Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN!
Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2019.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the 1870 United States Agricultural Census record for Henry Carringer, my 3rd great-grandfather, in Columbus City, Louisa County, Iowa:

There are two pages for these records, and they are on two different images on Ancestry.com. Here are the two images:

Henry Carringer is in Line 34 on the first image on the right-hand page, and his agricultural information carries over on Line 34 the left-hand page on the second image.

Here are the headings and Henry's information (Line 34) on the first page:

The headings and Henry's information (Line 34) on the second page are:

The information on the first page is (by column number):

1. Name: Henry Carringer

2. Acres of land - Improved: 40

3. Acres of land - Unimproved - Woodland: 10

4. Acres of land - Unimproved - Other: 0

5. Present cash value - Of farm ($): 2000

6. Present cash value - Of farming implements and machinery ($): 200

7. Total amount of wages paid during the year, including board ($): 0

8. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Horses: 3

9. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Mules and Asses: 0

10. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Milch cows: 4

11. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Working Oxen: 0

12. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Other Cattle: 1

13. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Sheep: 9

14. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Swine: 8

15. Live stock, June 1, 1870 - Value of all live stock ($): 607

16. Produce during the year - Wheat, Spring (bush): 160

17. Produce during the year - Wheat, Winter (bush): 0

18. Produce during the year - Rye (bush): 0

19. Produce during the year - Indian corn (bush): 150

20. Produce during the year - Oats (bush): 110

21. Produce during the year - Barley (bush): 0

22. Produce during the year - Buckwheat (bush): 0

23. Produce during the year - Rice (bush): 0

24. Produce during the year - Tobacco (bush): 0

And on the second sheet:

25. Produce during the year - Cotton (bales): 0

26. Produce during the year - Wool (lbs): 35

27. Produce during the year - Peas & Beans (bush): 0

28. Produce during the year - Potatoes - Irish (bush): 20

29. Produce during the year - Potatoes - Sweet (bush): 0

30. Produce during the year - Orchard products ($): 20

31. Produce during the year - Wine (gallons): 0

32. Produce during the year - Produce of market gardens ($): 0

33. Produce during the year - Dairy products - Butter (lbs): 400

34. Produce during the year - Dairy products - Cheese (lbs): 0

35. Produce during the year - Dairy products - Milk sold ($): 0

36. Produce during the year - Hay (Tons): 7

37. Produce during the year - Seed - Clover (Bush): 0

38. Produce during the year - Seed - Grass (Bush): 0

39. Produce during the year - Hops (Lbs): 0

40. Produce during the year - Hemp (Tons): 0

41. Produce during the year - Flax (Lbs): 0

42. Produce during the year - Flax seed (Bush): 0

43. Produce during the year - Silk cocoons (lbs): 0

44. Produce during the year - Sugar - Maple (Lbs): 0

45. Produce during the year - Sugar - Cane (1000 Lbs): 0

46. Produce during the year - Molasses (Gallons): 0

47. Produce during the year - Bees - Wax (Lbs): 0

48. Produce during the year - Bees - Honey (Lbs): 170

49. Produce during the year - Forest products ($): 0

50. Produce during the year - Value of home manufacture ($): 0

51. Produce during the year - Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter ($): 247

52. Total value - Estimated value of all farm production ($): 670

From this, we can see that Henry Carringer's 40 acre farm produced 160 bushels of spring wheat, 150 bushels of Indian corn, 110 bushels of oats, 20 bushels of Irish potatoes, $20 worth of orchard products, 400 pounds of butter, 7 tons of hay, 170 pounds of bee honey, and $247 worth of animals slaughtered, with a total farm production of $670 in the year ending June 1, 1870. Presumably, the rest of the farm production was used on the farm itself or traded for other commodities with other producers. It appears that he had no hired workers during this year.

Isn't that a great record? It;s a snapshot of the possessions and livelihood of one man and his family for one year.

Don't we all wish we had information like this for all of our ancestors? I need to look for more Agricultural Census records for my farmer ancestors in the Midwest.

I wonder if there is some resource that can help evaluate records of this type. How does the list of what and how much was produced on this farm compare with others geographically and over time? Was the farmer successful or just getting by?

Genealogy Jamboree 2019

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About Me

I am a native San Diegan, a graduate of San Diego State University, a retired aerospace engineer, a genealogist and a family guy.
My wife (Angel Linda) and I have two lovely daughters, and five darling grandchildren. We love to visit them and have them visit us.
Angel Linda and I love to travel to visit friends and relatives, to sightsee, to cruise or to do genealogy. Our travels have taken us all over the USA, to England, Down Under and Scandinavia.
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Contact me via email at randy.seaver@gmail.com